MP: Afghanistan is ‘unwinnable war of occupation’

Members of military families will join Labour MP Paul Flynn at today’s ceremony, who was suspended from parliament over comments he made about the conflict in Afghanistan.

We are fighting an unwinnable war of occupation and the sooner we follow our former coalition partners in withdrawing from the country the better. Unfortunately successive governments have failed to realise this and continue putting the lives of our soldiers at risk, repeating the tired mantra that they are reducing the threat of terrorism in the UK in doing so.

— LABOUR MP PAUL FLYNN
About 500 British troops are due to return home by the end of this year, leaving a further 9,000 to return by the end of 2014.

The number of members of UK forces to have died since operations began in October 2001 now stands at 433, and the US toll has now hit 2,000.